Paracord Grenade: A Tool for Survival

Nearly everyone has heard of paracord bracelets by now since they’ve become not just a survival tool, but a fashion piece. These bracelets come in all different designs, colors and styles, but the primary purpose is still to keep you safe in case of a dangerous situation.

With a paracord grenade, you have even more of that paracord to keep you safe when you need it. That’s because unlike a bracelet, a paracord grenade has more than just rope. It also has other important tools that you may need along with that rope.

Why you want a paracord grenade

A paracord grenade holds about 20 feet of paracord rated to 500 pounds, which is perfect for just about anything you need when you’re out there in the wilderness. Now you can create a grenade that’s a little smaller or even a little larger if you want, but this is generally the best size because it’s easy to carry but also holds the items that you want. You need to keep a decent balance after all or you might as well just put some rope in a bag and carry it around that way with your other tools.

The key with these grenades is that you can take them apart quite easily and then you have a long piece of paracord as well as a carabineer and whatever tools you’ve decided to put inside. The problem is once you do take it apart you’re going to have a heck of a time trying to put it back together so you really don’t want to unpack it until you’re ready to use the pieces (unless of course you have plenty of time to sit around and practice making them for yourself and your family.

Towing whatever you want

There are a number of different ways that you can use paracord to protect yourself in a variety of different ways. For one thing, you can use it to tow items behind your vehicle because one small piece of paracord is actually designed to pull up to 550 pounds all on its own.

When you double or triple the layers of the paracord you’re increasing the amount of weight that it can pull and if you tie that off to your vehicle you’ll be able to two anything you need. If you don’t have a vehicle you can still pull as much weight as you need because the rope is definitely going to have more strength than you.

Hanging a food bag

Use this to help keep your food up in the trees, away from hungry animals that might come into your camp looking for a bite to eat. By hanging your food it’s going to keep you a whole lot safer and it’s going to make sure that you don’t lose any of that extremely important food.

Even if you’re just going out camping for a little bit of fun you’ll be able to keep your food away from animals (and it’s good practice to always do so).

Repairing something broken

There are many times that a little string of rope can make a big difference in repairing something that you need. With paracord you can easily repair things because it’s easy to use as a full cord or you can break it down into smaller strands that are more like thread.

Those you can also use however you want and you’ll be able to sew up clothes or even your family if necessary with the smaller pieces. That’s definitely going to be important when you’re out on your own.

Building a shelter

If you really need to rough it out on your own you’ll be able to build a shelter using the rope that you’ve created. Now you really don’t want to cut it unless you absolutely have to because you never know when a longer piece of rope is going to come in handy, but building a shelter you’re going to need several lengths of rope to tie off your corners or tarps or whatever you’re making the shelter of.

Make sure that you have enough rope and that you only cut off as much as you need for these types of projects.

Create a snare

Getting your food is going to be one of the most important things while you’re out on your own. Creating a snare can be a great way to get some food and creating a sling or fishing instruments with your line can also be a great way to use it.

You’ll need to pull out internal strands to use for these aspects but you’ll be able to accomplish a lot with those little pieces of string so you don’t need to get rid of them but just keep reusing them for something different.

Build a fire

If you need a fire (which you probably will) you can use your paracord to create a bow drill. This is definitely not the easiest way to make a fire, but it’s a way you’re going to be able to work with.

If you’re planning on this method and you don’t have things like matches in your survival pack you’ll definitely want to practice long before you head out, so you’re prepared and you don’t have to spend a long time each night trying to get the process to work, it’s not easy.

First aid

Paracord can work wonders for several different types of first aid. You can use it to create a stretcher or tourniquet. You can even use it to create a splint or a sling. With the smaller strands inside the outer shell you can even create string to sew up wounds.

So even in your medical kit you’re going to want some paracord. Its uses will definitely seem just about endless when you start looking at all the things you can do with the whole strands or the individual strands on the inside.

What to put inside

There are several different things you can choose to put inside your paracord grenade. Because these are much larger than the traditional bracelets (and of course they’re round) you can fill them with all kinds of things that you may need and that you definitely want to have on hand at any time.

These are going to fit right inside the base of the grenade and the whole thing attaches to your side with a carabineer so you never have to worry about what you did with it when you need to pull something out or get started setting up your camp.

Fishing gear

Sure you can use the line itself as your fishing line, but you’re going to need a little more than a piece of string. So inside the grenade is a great place to store things like hooks, floats, or weights. If you don’t want to use up your paracord as a fishing line you can add a roll of regular line right inside and you’ll be able to get a little bit more use out of it.

Of course, it’s going to take up space so weigh out your most important factors. The paracord will work after all.

Fire starter

Once again, you have the option of using your paracord as a bow drill like we talked about earlier, but you’re going to need a lot of practice to make that method work. With some fire starters, whether matches or actual fire starters, you’ll be able to make your fire a lot faster.

Just make sure you pack several of whatever you use, whether it’s matches or something else. You don’t want to get stranded without them if you can help it. Then you may just have to create that bow drill so you can get fire.

Needles & pins

You can use these for sewing up wounds or for fixing up anything that might get broken while you’re traveling. You can always use a needle after all because you never know even when you’re going to get tears in your clothes. If you’re trying to survive in the wilderness you need those clothes to last as long as possible and that means being able to repair them.

You’ve got the paracord you can tear apart for string, but that’s not going to do you any good at all until you also have a needle to start sewing.

Small blade

You can choose a small pocket knife (very small) or a razor blade to put inside this grenade so that when it comes time to cut up anything you’re ready. Whether you need to cut up rags or small twigs to make a fire you definitely never want to be without some type of blade.

You need the sharp edge for several different tasks and the moment you don’t have that sharp object is definitely going to be the time that you need it. You never know what you could want it for after all.

Tin foil

This is what you’re going to use to wrap up your items so they don’t fall out of your grenade but it’s actually pretty useful in its own right as well. You can use it to help you start fires but also to create a signal (since the foil reflects light) or for cooking or just about anything else. You might actually be surprised just how much you can actually do with tin foil if you’re really paying attention. So make sure you don’t just throw it off to the side when you unwrap your package and start using the other contents.

Compass

No matter what’s going on in the rest of the world you definitely want to make sure that you always know where you’re going and a compass is going to help you with that process. You’ll be able to get your bearings back a little better when it comes down to it, even if you don’t pull apart your grenade right from the start.

So make sure you have something small but still useful because you never know when you’re going to need it and you definitely don’t want anything to happen to it. You may even want to wrap it carefully to make sure nothing is going to hurt the magnetics inside the device. See our article review of the best compass for your needs.

Flashlight

You may want to be able to see where you’re going when things start to get a little rough and a small flashlight is going to be able to help you with that. You can easily shine it around (though you’ll want to be careful with this in survival situations) and you’ll be able to see to set up camp even when it’s dark outside and you aren’t sure of your surroundings or the area.

You’ll be able to keep yourself heading in the right direction.

Water purification tablets

You never know what the water is going to be like wherever you’re going and you still need to be able to drink it. That’s why it’s going to be important to have several of these tablets with you.

Sure you can take the time to boil the water and clear it of most toxins (but not all) but water purification tablets are definitely going to be a lot easier to simply drop in the water (when you have larger quantities of it) and make sure that it’s safe for the entire family to drink.

Making a paracord grenade

Now you can obviously purchase these grenades from just about anywhere and you can get them made in different colors, sizes and with all different items inside. But if you really want to have complete control over your grenade you definitely want to make sure that you are making it yourself.

That way you put in only the things that you need and you can leave out any of the things that you don’t necessarily want to take. Not to mention it can be a whole lot cheaper to make several of these for yourself instead of purchasing one for each member of the family.

Ingredients

You’re going to need several pieces in order to make it work. First, you obviously need to have the paracord itself. You want to get something rated at 550 pounds so make sure you’re getting true paracord and not a twine or other type of rope.

You also want to have plenty of it so you don’t get partway through your grenade and realize you have to stop and start over with something new. At least 20 feet should be good depending on how much stuff you’re going to put on the inside.

Next, make sure you have a heavy duty carabineer clip. It should be rated to hold a decent amount of weight (though it’s up to you what that weight should be). Check out our review of the best carabiners to guide you. You also want to make sure that you have all the items that you want to put in the grenade. You definitely aren’t going to be able to easily take these apart and put them back together so you want everything together from the start. If you want to practice making a few of them that’s fine too but know it’s going to take time to create that grenade and then try to put it all back together if you take it apart.

Step One

Take your paracord and double it over. You want to attach it to the carabineer clip with a larks head knot. That means you take the loop at the top and put it under the carabineer then bring the free strands up over the carabineer and through the loop. You pull tight and now you’re ready to go.

Of course, you need to get your supplies ready too so take a piece of tin foil and wrap everything together as tightly as you can without breaking your foil. You want everything to be protected after all.

Step Two

Place the tin foil wrapped pieces below your carabineer on a table and start wrapping. You want to put the foil in between the two cords so the carabineer is on top and one cord comes down on each side.

Then you’re going to use a quick deploy cobra knot all the way down. This isn’t going to make the prettiest paracord survival grenade, but it’s going to make one that’s easy to pull back apart when you’re ready to use it. If you want something a little fancier you’re going to want to check out some other knots that can get you there. For instructions on paracord braiding, see our article on this topic.

As mentioned before, there are several grenades you can purchase and they are varying sizes and types. You can even find websites that will allow you to customize (at least somewhat) the grenade that you will get. The best way to really get what you want, however, is to make your own. So start looking for your supplies and get started with your paracord grenade now. You’re definitely going to want it when it comes time to head out on your own in any type of survival situation.

About the Author

Samuel Funt

Samuel is a prepper with over 15 years of experience. Samuel is excited to share his knowledge and the things he learns while travelling in British Columbia, Canada where he lives and around the world.

Reproduction of any portion of this website only at the permission of Survival Mastery.

The information provided on this site is for educational use only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

All images are the property of their respective owners. If you found any image copyrighted to yours, please contact us, so we can remove it.

Survival-Mastery is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com